ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors discuss the nature of social systems and integrate insights on specific researcher qualities required for intervening in a variety of social systems. They explain four main rationales: to understand the nature of social systems; to emphasise the importance of participant recruitment; to share strategies for recruiting participants; and to encourage other scholars to do the same. Meso-level social systems centre on secondary groups, for instance, work units such as groups, teams, intergroups, divisions, and departments, and small corporate structures. The authors address groups and work units first before discussing corporate structures. The risk increases because intervening at the lower levels carries greater disruption for participants and increases intensity of participant reactions to interventions, which enhances the probability of intervention resistance or rejection. They find that recruiting participants is a very practical matter that does not receive appropriate attention in published Interventionist Research studies.
